CVE-2023-5422Network attack vector

E-mail interception via unchecked TLS certificates

Published Oct 16, 2023 · Updated Sep 16, 2024

Improper certificate validation in OTRS 7.0.x before 7.0.47 and 8.0.x before 8.0.37 allows remote attackers to impersonate mail servers. The POP3, IMAP, and SMTP TLS paths use OpenSSL without calling SSL_get_verify_result(), so invalid or expired certificates remain trusted. Man-in-the-middle attackers positioned between OTRS and a configured mail server can intercept or alter e-mail; Community Edition 6.0.34 and earlier is also affected.

CVSS severity8.7
High
EPSS probability0.28%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper certificate validation in OTRS 7.0.x before 7.0.47 and 8.0.x before 8.0.37 allows remote attackers to impersonate mail servers. The POP3, IMAP, and SMTP TLS paths use OpenSSL without calling SSL_get_verify_result(), so invalid or expired certificates remain trusted. Man-in-the-middle attackers positioned between OTRS and a configured mail server can intercept or alter e-mail; Community Edition 6.0.34 and earlier is also affected.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-5422
Published
Oct 16, 2023
Updated
Sep 16, 2024
Vendor
Centuran Consulting
Product
OTRS Community Edition
Classifications
CWE-295, CAPEC-475, T1557
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 16, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 16, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=6.0.x <=6.0.34
  2. Affected versionversion=6.0x <6.0.34

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Centuran Consulting · OTRS Community Editionversion=6.0.x <=6.0.34; version=6.0x <6.0.34
Centuran Consulting · OTRSversion=7.0.x <7.0.47; version=8.0.x <8.0.37

Published CVSS scores

9.1NISTCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
8.7OTRS AGCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-295Improper Certificate Validation
CAPEC-475Signature Spoofing by Improper Validation
T1557Adversary-in-the-Middle

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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